Busy Animals: Learning About Animals in Autumn

Written by Lisa Bullard

Picture Window Books 2010

24 pages

Nonfiction

 

                              

  This story describes what animals do in the fall. It gives details about how different animals get prepared for the winter during the fall season. Children can see what different animals hibernate during the winter and how they prepare for that as well as how other animals store food so that they wont starve during the cold months.

                                 The illustrations in this story are done with watercolors. These look very warm and rustic to depict the animals in the forest. This would be a book that would catch a child's attention. This book has not received any awards.
                                You could use this book in the class by having your students choose creative adjectives to describe each of the animals homes in the story. You could also have them fill out a chart with things that a certain animal "is", "has", and "can do" to describe specific details about them. The teacher could also create a board and let the students write down on a sticky note why they think that animals hibernate in the winter or what they think the word hibernate means exactly. 

                                    

 



Man on the Moon

Written by Anastasia Suen

Illustrated by Benrei Huang

Puffin, 2002

32 pages

Nonfiction

 

                              This book by Suen tells about Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin, and Neil Armstrong's milestone success of landing on the moon in 1969. It tells the story about the first time man ever set foot on the moon when no one thought that it was possible. This inspiring story is brought to life with illustration of space and the astronauts walking on the moon. I chose this book because space is very interesting to me and it is something that children are very curious about.

                              The illustrations appear to be done in pencil and possibly some kind of paint. I was not able to find exactly what he used. The pictures are very kid friendly. The colors make the illustrations seem soft. This book has not received any awards.

                              This book could be used in the classroom during science time when discussing space. You could give your students an assignment to design their own space ship and even let them build their own. During writing time you could let your class write a poem about space or space exploration. You could also create a KWL chart with your class while reading the story.



Pyramids, Mummies, and Pharaohs: A Book About Ancient Egypt

Written and Illustrated by Gail Gibbons

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2004

32 pages

Nonfiction

 

                       Gail Gibbons has many wonderful nonfiction books that children love to read. She does an excellent job on all of her books and this one is no different. This story takes you through ancient Egypt when Pharaohs ruled and what life was like for people back then. It describes the beliefs of the people, what people did from day to day, and describes the customs of the people. I chose this book because I love Gail Gibbons work and was interested to see what this book entailed.

                      Gibbons created the illustrations with pen and paintbrush. She is very descriptive and specific with her illustrations so that the reader can get a realistic idea of her stories. This book is focused on the illustrations which cover each page completely. The illustrations are labeled showing different details from Ancient Egypt and the text is placed below each picture. This book has not received any awards.

                      This book could be used during social studies time. You split your class into groups, assign them different things from the book, and have them draw a picture of their topic and write words to describe what they drew. You could also have your students connect slaves back then to slaves in the united states and have them compare and contrast the two. 

Under the Sea

Written by Anna Milbourne

Illustrated by Cathy Shimmen

Usborne Books 2007

32 pages

Nonfiction

 

                               This is a book that will really capture your student's attention. It tells all about the ocean as well as all the life that inhabits it. It gives details and fun facts about the ocean its self and about all different kinds of creatures from coral reefs to sea turtles. It also includes things about the deepest parts of the ocean. This is one that really sparks the imagination. I chose this book because of all the beautiful colors and details on the cover.

                        I could not find what type of medium the illustrator used when creating the pictures for this book. I believe that they were created mainly with watercolors. Shimmen uses bright vibrant colors which makes each page stand out. She uses many different variations of blues for the ocean. Each illustration is filled with beautiful colors and many different creatures from the sea. This book has not received any awards.

                         One activity that would be fun for students would be to draw their choice of animals from the sea on a "four square paper." Under each picture they could sounds out the name of each animal to practice writing their on words. This book could be used during science when learning about the different things you see in the ocean. You could create a chart as a class with one category naming things you see in the ocean and a separate category naming things that you would not see in the ocean. You could also use animals and key terms from the story during reading time as words to segment and sound out with your students. 



Ruth and the Green Book

Written by Calvin Alexander Ramsey and Gwen Strauss

Illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Carolrhoda Books 2010

32 pages

Historical Fiction

 

                                 

                                 This is a story about a young African American girl named Ruth and the journey she and her family take as they travel from their home in Chicago to see her grandmother in Alabama.  It is set in the early 1950's during the time of the Jim Crow Laws. Ruth is excited about traveling in the car since not many black families had cars during that time. Their journey is not an easy one since many motels and gas stations did not serve African Americans. Ruth and her family finally meet a kind and helpful attendant at a gas station and gives them The Green Book which contains all the places that welcome black travelers. This helps them have a safe trip as they make their way to Alabama.

                           I do not know what medium the illustrator used to create his pictures but I believe that they are watercolors. Cooper is a very good illustrator and uses very warm colors in this story. He is also good with details in his work. The expressions on the characters' faces in the story depict the different situations very well. This book has not received any awards.

                       

     One way to incorporate this story with your class would be during math time. You could have your students go through the story and identify how many different places the family went for younger students. Older students could calculate how many miles the family traveled from Chicago to Alabama. Another connection that could be made would be for your students to research Jim Crow laws and write down reasons these might effect black travelers during this time, have them write responses on a sticky note and post them on a poster board.



The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Written by John Boyne

Random House Children's Books 2006

215 pages

Historical Fiction

                           This story takes place in Berlin in 1942 during the period of the Holocaust. It is about a boy named Bruno who comes home one day to find that his father has gotten a promotion and their family is moving. Bruno's father was an SS officer in the Nazi Army. They move to a place where there is not much around and there is no one for Bruno to play with. The place they move to is actually the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. He immediately notices a long fence that goes on for miles and miles. He soon meets a boy who lives with the other strange looking people on the other side of the fence who's name is Shmuel. The boys become friends and meet in the same spot every day. One day Bruno puts on a pair of stripped pajamas and goes through the fence to help his friend find his father and the boys end up in a march. They did not know where the march was leading and end up in the gas chambers. Bruno's family search but could never find him until his father puts the pieces together a year later and figures out what happened. This sad story shows what life was like during this dark time in history.

                             This book contains no illustrations. It contains twenty chapters throughout its 215 pages. This book is most appropriate for ages 12 and up. The cover has stripes similar to the ones that the prisoners in the concentration camps wore. This book has not received any awards.
                             One activity that your class could do with this story would be make a prediction about the story and what they think it will be about. They could write a paragraph about their predictions and then after finishing the book write another paragraph comparing what they learned to their predictions. to create a PowerPoint or presentation of some kind with facts about the Holocaust or something that has to do with the Holocaust. Finally, you could split your class up into groups and get them to make their own scene or story about the holocaust and act out events or make up their own.

 

                                     

Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story From the Underground Railroad

Written by Ellen Levine

Illustrated by Kadir Nelson

Scholastic, Inc. 2007

40 pages

Historical Fiction

 

                            Henry's Freedom Box is a story that will tug on your heartstrings. It is a story about a slave living in the United States and his struggle through life. He never even knew his own birthday. He always dreams about some day becoming free and living a happy life. He eventually gets married and has a family of his own after being torn from his own family as a boy. He is crushed after he finds his self separated from his family again when his wife and children are sold to different masters. Henry is determined to be free and makes a plan to mail himself to the north in a box. When Henry finally reaches freedom he marks this first day as a free man as his birthday. I chose this book because I really enjoyed reading it in EED 312 and it is now one of my favorites.

                           The mediums of the illustrations created by Nelson are pencil, oil and watercolors. The illustrations take up the whole page, with the text on the bottom of the pages. The illustrator did a fantastic job of capturing all the feelings and emotions of the slaves and their struggle to survive. It makes you feel like you are actually there. This book received a Caldecott honor.

                            A fun activity that could be done with this book would be to have your students think about themselves being in the underground railroad and for them to come up with ideas of how they would escape to their freedom. Another fun activity would be to do a reader's theatre and to act out different scenes from the book or even make up their own skit about being a slave. Finally, an activity to get students thinking would be to make teams of two and ask them to pull out real historical facts from the story and research those things. After gathering research and making connections, the teams could present their findings including pictures and other visual aides.